Vikings' John Carlson 'excited' to show Seattle his old Seahawks form

Vikings tight end John Carlson clears a path on his 28-yard touchdown run during the third quarter against Washington at the Metrodome on Nov. 7, 2013, in Minneapolis. (Pioneer Press: Sherri LaRose-Chiglo)

John Carlson was injured and inactive last season when the Vikings visited his old stomping grounds in Seattle, but the former Seahawks tight end is poised for a busy return Sunday when Minnesota returns to the Pacific Northwest.

Coming off his most productive game for the Vikings, Carlson is embracing his resurgence and welcomes the opportunity to play again at CenturyLink Field. Carlson caught a combined 137 passes for the 2008-10 Seahawks before missing 2011 with a knee injury and then signing with the Vikings as a free agent.

"I'm excited to go back there," Carlson said Monday. "I have a lot of great memories from playing there, a lot of great friends that are still playing for that team. It's a great challenge. We know the type of team they have. They're doing a great job this year, and we know that environment will be crazy-loud. I'm looking forward to it."

The Seahawks (9-1) are the NFC's top team and 4-0 at CenturyLink Field, a famously loud and difficult stadium for opponents. The Vikings (2-7) are coming off Thursday night's 34-27 comeback victory over Washington at the Metrodome.

Starting in place of injured Pro Bowl player Kyle Rudolph, Carlson caught seven passes for 98 yards and his first touchdown since Sept. 26, 2010. The only time he had more yards was as a rookie -- 105, on six receptions in a game at Dallas.

"It's always fun to contribute and feel like you're helping the team get a win," Carlson. "Every tight end wants to catch balls.

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It was fun to feel like I contributed to the victory. But I can't rest on that game. We have to move on to the next challenge."

Rudolph is expected to miss the next three to five weeks because of a fractured foot suffered Nov. 4. It provided an opening for Carlson, who has been plagued by injuries since establishing Seattle's top two seasons for a tight end with 109 combined receptions in 2008 and '09.

Entering Thursday's game against Washington, he had managed only 19 receptions in 1-1/2 seasons with the Vikings.

"Kyle gets a lot of those balls because he's earned that role," Carlson said. "He's made a lot of plays for this team. Last week was a function of Kyle being injured and getting more opportunities."

The Vikings still are trying to determine what they have in the 29-year-old from Litchfield, Minn.

They originally signed him envisioning a two-tight-end offense featuring the two Notre Dame products, Carlson and Rudolph. A knee problem and concussion limited Carlson in 2012.

Carlson took a pay cut in 2013, restructuring the five-year, $25 million contract he had initially signed in 2012. The team is only on the hook for the final $3 million of his signing bonus if he is released after this season.

Carlson also has lined up at the H-back position, a role Rhett Ellison and Jerome Felton have shared as lead blocker for Adrian Peterson. Felton was suspended for the first three games of this season, and Ellison has been injured and missed five games, forcing the Vikings to rely more on Carlson's blocking skills.

"They move us around quite a bit in this offense," Carlson said. "There's a lot of stuff we're asked to do; that's one of the reasons it's fun to play tight end in this offense."

Coach Leslie Frazier said Carlson's blocking has "improved vastly" since he joined the Vikings. Now the tight end can expand his role.

"We want that to be more of a part of our offense, including him along with Kyle," Frazier said. "What he did on Thursday night probably pushes us more in that direction, although we have some other weapons. It would have been tough to come out successfully as an offense and as a team without his contribution on Thursday night. So that was really encouraging."

To Rudolph, as well.

"I know he was frustrated last year with the injuries and how the whole year went, so we've seen the work that he's put in," Rudolph said. "I know it was kind of a weight lifted off his shoulders to go out there and play well and have the success that he did."